Scrapbrook

Welwyn and Hatfield Police Station circa 1950

The old Welwyn and Hatfield police station.Take a look back to see how things were in Britain at the time. (click on the photo.)

The iconic 1950's police car

The Wolseley police car, complete with Winkworth bell. (click the photo for more)

The Phoenix 150

The motor scooter that prove to be a vital clue in Three Monkeys. Scooter were a very popular mode of transport, especially for young people since their emergence in the '50's . (click the Phoenix to see some other rare British motor scooters)

A popular social hub of the '50s

The legendary 21's coffee bar, widely held to be the birthplace of British rock and roll. Tommy Steele, Cliff Richard and the Shadows, all got their initial break here.(click the photo for more)

Bert Weedon

Bert Weedon, 'the man who taught the world to play guitar' - well, Eric Clapton, Hank Marvin and Mark Knopfler etc. all learned from the master, by using this book.(click the picture for more)

The Hofner Club 150

Eric's first electric guitar - lucky boy. John Lennon would go on to play the same model. (click the photo for a demonstration)

Les Paul and Mary Ford

The music being played on the wireless in 1958 was becoming an alien sound to Jack. His preference was for 'real' singers and musicians like Les Paul and Mary Ford, and then Lonnie Donegan came along and started the skiffle craze and the musical landscape changed forever. (click the picture for more)

Lonnie Donegan

The man himself - the king of skiffle, Lonnie Donegan. He started as a banjo player in the Chris Barber jazz band, but was given a spot in the show to play 'skiffle' music. Soon he had recorded 'Rock Island Line' and left Barber for a much more lucrative solo career, play his own style of music. (click the photo for more)

Amami Nights

While their husbands and boyfriends were watching or participating in wrestling matches, their wives, sisters and girlfriends would amuse themselves by having 'Amami Nights' - curling their hair with a pungent smelling setting lotion.(click on the picture for a demonstration)

Tools of both trades

There is a thin blue line that separate criminals from the police. The image shows the weapons each of them employ (click on the link to see how our police were trained)

Pinky and Perky

It's hard to believe that two singing pig puppets could captivate the imagination of a nation, but Pinky and Perky did just that. The anarchic little porkers even had their show on a Saturday evening pulled by the BBC for being too political when they had a program entitled 'You Too Can Be Prime Minister', during the 1966 general election (click the photo to hear them sing) It beats CGI!

White Hart Lane in the 1950's

And finally, Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, Jack's beloved Spurs. To escape excesses of the crimes he's called upon to solve, Jack seeks rest and relaxation by the attending home matches whenever he can...which is far less than he would like. (click the photo for a potted history of the club)